Book Thoughts: Asylum

Title: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux

Dan Crawford is super excited for his pre-college summer program, but he's a little wary of their dorm: it's a renovated building that used to be Brookline Asylum, home of several criminally insane patients. Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan go exploring, and discover that the old asylum may not be quite as gone as they might have hoped...

From an escapist, fun-Halloween-read point of view, I enjoyed ASYLUM. It's a creepy story with a lot of twists and turns that you don't necessarily see coming. It was a fun, relatively light read, and one that's creepy in a way that's not going to give you nightmares.

Is it the greatest-ever work of literature? No. Dan and Abby's relationship fell a bit flat, and I was really disappointed in the ending because I felt like we never really got any resolution. Some of the explanation we did get didn't make a whole lot of sense. But on the whole, it was a fun ride. I really just wanted more explanation at the end!

I did enjoy the incorporation of pictures, and props to Roux for a gay character whose story arc is not entirely centered on his homosexuality. He's a person who is gay, not a Gay Person, which is awesome. Not really having a lot of strong feelings either way about this book -- I liked it, but I'm not going to be jumping around trying to shove it into people's hands, either.

Book Thoughts: Sourcery

Title: Sourcery
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #5

Sourcery -- access to raw, creative, untethered magic -- disappeared from the Disc long ago, after some very nasty Mage Wars. But it has returned, in the form of a young boy named Coin.

Something has to be done before the overpowered wizards destroy the Disc -- but it looks like the job is going to be left to a failed wizard, a boy who's been a barbarian hero for three days but hasn't finished the instruction manual, a hairdresser wannabe with killer instincts, and an alcoholic poet. As you might expect, hilarious shenanigans (and a lot of surprising depth) ensue.

Rincewind! Rincewind is back! (We haven't seen him since The Light Fantastic, and he's one of my favorites.) And the other characters are all wonderful too. Some of the plot got a little bit weird in this one, but I think I would put it pretty close to the top of my Discworld experience so far. A quick and hilarious read, classic Terry Pratchett. Definitely read.

Book Thoughts: Shadow and Bone

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Grisha #1

After the first chapter of this one, I was reeling trying to keep track of all of the Russian-influenced words and place names. I’ll give it one more chapter, I told myself, and then I will put it down for the night.

The next time I bothered to check anything, I was several chapters and 53 pages into the book. I just had to know what would happen to Alina, what the Darkling’s secrets were, and whether they really could brave the Shadow Fold.

Leigh Bardugo creates in this series a fascinating world, obviously influenced by Russia but something entirely its own. And the Grisha are just a fantastic new twist on elemental magic. I thought I was going to be super confused trying to keep the details straight, but the writing makes it actually very easy to keep up. The story is unabashedly honest, dark, and twisty — and also beautiful. I put it down only to sleep. After the first chapter, I didn’t think I was going to like it, but keep going, because by the end of the book? I was turning pages hungrily and waiting desperately for the sequel.

Book Thoughts: Everneath

Title: Everneath
Author: Brodi Ashton
Series: Everneath #1
*Imported from tumblr*

I did not think that I was going to enjoy this one, but I could not have been more wrong.

Nikki Beckett, back on earth after a hundred years — or a few months, depending on whose perspective you’re looking at — in the Everneath, has six months to say goodbye to her family before being sucked back to the underworld forever. Whatever emotions she has left will be used to power the immortals who live in the Everneath and feed off of willing mortals. When she left, Nikki didn’t want her life anymore, but now that she’s back and has six months to say goodbye forever, she’ll do anything to stay aboveground — and to win back the love of the boy whose memory saved her in the Everneath.

I don’t feel like I’ve done the book any sort of justice with that summary. Yes, it’s got your obligatory YA-romance-love-triangle - two smokin’ hot guys fighting over the girl. But Everneath is far from the stereotype. In fact, one of my favorite things about the novel was the way Nikki’s relationships with Cole and Jack were developed. And Brodi Ashton’s twist on immortality and the underworld? LOVE. Also, I’m a total mythology geek, so the parallels to Orpheus and Eurydice and also to Hades and Persephone were super cool. My only complaint was that some of the narrative time-jumps were a little weird at first.

It’s definitely a romance novel, but there’s a lot more to it than just that, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Book Thoughts: The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman

This was my first foray into reading Neil Gaiman, and I think I shall have to go back for more. Clever, cute, and a little bit creepy, the story of Bod’s childhood in the graveyard is one that I devoured in one sitting. I was reminded of a more serious and slightly more grown-up Eva Ibbotson story.

The cast of characters is wonderful and varied, and the story is one you don’t want to stop reading. It was in the YA section at my library, but I would extend the age range for this book into slightly before “young adulthood” and well after it. In other words, check it out if you like anything remotely fantastical or mysterious.

Book Thoughts: Wicked

Title: Wicked
Author: Gregory Maguire

My favorite movie as a kid was The Wizard of Oz and I loved the book, and I recently developed a deep love for the musical Wicked -- so of course the next natural step was to read the book on which the musical was based.

When I first wanted to read Wicked, my dad told me I should wait because it was too "grown-up" for me. I finally got back around to it and at first didn't understand what it was that he thought was so awful about it; there were some allusions to sex, one unpleasant murder towards the end, they said the word "nipple" once, but nothing that seemed to justify having me wait to read it.

Having finished the book, I think I understand. It's not that the content would have been horribly inappropriate (although I probably would have asked some uncomfortable questions about sex, true), it's that the themes -- religion, politics, the nature of evil, whether there is a soul -- would have confused little-me and gone right over my head.

I have to say I prefer Baum's original and the musical version because I'm a sucker for happy endings and the writing style of Wicked wasn't as engaging as I would have liked, but I did really enjoy reading this one. It's given me a lot to think about, and it was really awesome revisiting an old favorite from a completely different perspective. I'm glad that I waited to read it, because I got so much more out of it now than I would have several years ago. There's a LOT in this book that's food for thought. I would definitely advise trying it!

Book Thoughts: Vesper

Title: Vesper
Author: Jeff Sampson
Series: Deviants #1

Vesper surprised me, and it confused me. It bothered me in places. It made me laugh out loud, and it made me shudder. It definitely was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it.

Our story begins with shy, geeky Emily Webb dressed in an outfit she would never wear and attempting to climb out of her bedroom window. A few minutes later, she snaps back to reality, horrified by what she has almost done. Then she gets a phone call: Emily Cooke, a girl from her school, has been shot and killed. Her body was found barefoot, pajama-clad, three miles from her home.

Emily Webb is affected in a way she can't explain by the death of the other Emily, and even as she grieves the loss of a classmate she barely knew, she is changing. Each night, she is hit with a crippling pain, and then she changes into someone different - still Emily, but an Emily who is bold and brazen and maybe even a little slutty. And then she changes even more, into something that may not even be human. Mixed in with the story are transcripts of a conversation Emily has with someone called "F. Savage" describing her adventures.

At first, based on the transcripts, I was expecting a straight-up science fiction novel, but that wasn't what I got. It's a mystery - a murder mystery and a who-am-I mystery all wrapped into one. The plot was excellent. I just kept turning pages, eager to find out what was going on and what would happen next. I hope it doesn't take too long for the sequel, because I want it (a problem, since this one isn't even out until next week).

The only problem I had was Megan. I'm not sure why Emily and Megan were actually friends; it definitely wasn't the kind of friendship I'd want to have. I just didn't like her at all, and I wished we had gotten to know a little more about who she was.

Despite that, Vesper was an intriguing story that kept me reading and left me wanting more. I recommend it, especially if you like a nice dark blend of fantasy, science fiction, and murder mysteries...

Book Thoughts: The Iron King

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey #1

THE IRON KING is about Meghan Chase. On the day before her sixteenth birthday, she is thrust into the world of faerie when her four-year-old brother is replaced by a changeling. Meghan sets out to rescue Ethan, but she finds more than she bargained for in the faeryland, including a heritage she never knew she had.

Okay, so that summary was crap. But it's more than the back of the book told me, I had to discover the rest for myself, and you will too. You guys, it was awesome. Read it.

At first I was a little wary of another faerie story that was dropping names like Mab and Oberon and Titania and Puck. Something like this: "Really, you guys? Seelie and Unseelie Courts, changelings replacing children, and Puck as the merry prankster? What next, she's the faerie princess? I have heard this before." But then there were the Iron Fey. I'd never heard of those before. And the characters. Like Ash. And Puck. And Grimalkin. Oh my goodness, Grimalkin. Teehee. "I am a cat." Julie Kagawa does an excellent job of taking familiar mythology and twisting it to make it her own and mixing it with her own creations. Yes, there's stuff in here you'll recognize if you've read any faerie stories, but there's also stuff that's new and original. And great.

Book Thoughts: Radiant Shadows

Title: Radiant Shadows
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Wicked Lovely #4

**Potential spoilers for earlier books in series**

The Wicked Lovely series is about faeries. There's the Summer Court, the Winter Court, the High Court, and the Dark Court. There's a great cast of characters, and so far none of the books have had the same main protagonist (Aislinn was key in both Wicked Lovely and Fragile Eternity, but FE was really more about Seth...but if you haven't read them, then you don't know what I'm talking about, and if you have, then this is an unnecessary explanation, so. Moving on).

Anyway, the fourth book, Radiant Shadows, is about Ani and Devlin. Ani's a halfling. Her mother was mortal, and her father is Gabriel, the leader of the Wild Hunt. Ani is different because she survives on both touch, like the Hounds of the Hunt, and emotion, like the Dark Court. And she can feed from both faeries and mortals, which is pretty much unheard of. She's different. And she's not supposed to be alive.

Enter Devlin. Devlin was supposed to kill Ani when she was an infant, but at the request of Rae, a dreamwalker, he didn't, thereby betraying the two faeries who created him. He watches Ani, and struggles to fend off emotions that as High Court, he shouldn't feel.

Ani and Devlin's lives become intertwined, and...well...all sorts of interesting things happen. Don't want to tell you too much more because then you'll think you don't need to read the book (and you know how I detest spoilers). Radiant Shadows can pretty much stand on its own, I think, but I say this having read the other three books - and you won't want to read just this one because they're all so good!

It's a faerie story with courts and rules and a Faerie realm, and no mention of Titania or Oberon, which is a pleasant change. And the characters are just spectacular. And there is so much more to all of it than battle scenes and dark romance. There is plot. There is intrigue. There is humor. There are characters who are absolutely unforgettable. And there is a whole fictional world that you will just want to get lost in. It's a spectacular series, you guys. I'm not just saying that.

Book Thoughts: Beautiful Creatures

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: Caster Chronicles #1

The book I was reading today was absolutely FANTASTIC. Like, I'd put the book down, walk by a mirror, and be like "...wait a second. That's me. Oh, right, this is the real world. Becky, not Lena and Ethan." It's that well-written. You can completely forget about the real world and just get lost in the characters and their story.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, tells the story of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. The people of Gatlin, South Carolina are pretty much stereotypical Southerners. Their families have lived in Gatlin for years and years and years, and they still have Confederate flags and talk about the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence, and nothing ever changes. Ethan Wate is the only one who seems to want to leave. So when Lena Duchannes moves to town and things start happening, Ethan can't help but be drawn to her.

A strange song called "Sixteen Moons" keeps popping up on Ethan's iPod. The weather goes crazy around Lena. And strangest of all, they have the same dreams - about each other. As their friendship grows and changes, they discover a mystery, a curse, and things that Ethan never could have dreamed he'd encounter in Gatlin. Danger, mystery, romance, magic, and a sense of something bigger coming... this novel has it all.

I know I rant and rave a lot about great books, but when I say a book is good, I mean it. And when I say a book is great, I mean it. And when I say a book is Seriously Fantastic and you Must Go Read It Right Now, I most definitely mean it. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES falls into that last category. The conflict, the mystery, and the danger are all wonderfully developed, and the story moves quickly (so don't let the length of the book scare you off). But the action does not at all take away from the characters. Ethan and Lena are two very complex, very real characters who really can make you forget about yourself for a few hours. I completely adored this book. Not an exaggeration. Read it, you guys, it is made of awesome. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a beautiful book.

Book Thoughts: Magic Under Glass

Title: Magic Under Glass
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Series: Magic Under #1

This was such a good book. Beautifully written, like Jane Austen infused with sorcery, and it's so poetic and magical and it's a wonderful love story and it's so great.

Nimira is a dancing girl in a poor city, seeking her fortunes after her father's fall from grace. She gets the opportunity to go live with and work for a sorcerer, Mr. Hollin Parry, and sing with his automaton. But the automaton is more alive than anyone realizes, and Nimira may be the only one who can save him. MAGIC UNDER GLASS is a beautiful love story about a girl torn between "a man she does not love and a man she cannot have" (from the jacket cover) and it was so good and so sweet and oh my goodness everyone should read it because it was fantastic.

Book Thoughts: The Light

Title: The Light
Author: D.J. MacHale
Series: Morpheus Road #1

THE LIGHTwas written by D. J. MacHale, who also wrote the wonderful sci-fi/fantasy/adventure Pendragon series. This was a really strange book that took me a little bit to get into, but in the end, I really enjoyed it and I'll definitely read the second one when it comes out.

The book is about Marshall ("Marsh") Seaver, a quiet boy with one real friend who lives alone with his father because his mom died. He's planning a wonderful summer vacation, but then two strange things happen: Marsh's best friend Cooper disappears, and the scary comic-book super-villain that Marsh has been doodling everywhere starts appearing in real life. When it starts becoming clear that the two occurrences are related, Marsh has to team up with Cooper's sister Sydney to find out what happened to his best friend and put a stop to Gravedigger (the super-villain)'s dangerous behaviors.

I can't count the number of times I said "This book is so weird" while I was reading it, but in the end, I did think it was a good book and it definitely kept me reading. THE LIGHT was full of mystery and creepiness and adventure, and Marsh is a pretty well-developed character. It plays with your mind and makes you want to find out what happens. There are definitely a few plot holes that need to be addressed and hopefully will be later in the series, but it's definitely worth reading. You can find out more about stuff at D. J. MacHale's website. You can check out the Pendragon series too - it's very very very very awesome.

Book Thoughts: Hex Hall

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall #1

I read Hex Hall over twoish hours this morning. It was an absolutely wonderful book. I will confess that I figured out the plot twists about halfway through the book, but that's something I do a lot, and the great thing about this book: it doesn't matter, because it's still fun to read.

Sophie Mercer is a witch. She's always tried to use her powers to help people, but after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she gets sentenced to Hecate Hall, nicknamed "Hex Hall." It's basically a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries. Sophie has a hard time fitting in. The most popular, most beautiful, and most powerful witches on campus become her enemies almost immediately; the guy she likes is dating one of those witches; the only person who will be friends with her is Jenna Talbot. Jenna's also the only vampire on campus. And to top it off, Sophie knows next to nothing about being a witch. So, she doesn't really fit in.

When students start turning up drained of blood, Sophie's one friend is the only suspect. But Sophie doesn't think the attacks are Jenna's doing. She's convinced that there's a far more powerful enemy out there. And whoever the enemy is, Sophie is one of their biggest targets.

I was expecting something fun but girly, full of giggling and girliness and love spells and so on. What HH delivered was much more than that. The dangers Sophie faces and the situations presented are much deeper and darker than shallow, surface-level popularity crises. There are demons, there is torture, there are all manner of dark, lurking secrets. It's a fantastically woven plot. But the narrative style is light, fresh, sarcastic, witty - Sophie sounds just like a regular teenager. A very fun book. Definitely go read it.

Book Thoughts: City of Bones

Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

[[I wrote this when I was 15 and am importing it for archive purposes only, but I *am* keeping it, because it accurately captures how much I loved it -- in a very 15-year-old way.]]

Okay, so I finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare today and it was soooo amazing. I LOVED it with a capital L-O-V-E-D. It was hilarious and witty but also really serious and action-packed and adventurous and fantastical (fantasy-ish...I guess the word is fantastical anyway).

So basically it's this girl named Clary Fray and she goes to the Pandemonium Club in NYC with her best friend Simon and she witnesses a murder. Except that she's the only one who can see the murderers and the body disappears into thin air. The murderers are Shadowhunters - demon killers. They're really shocked that Clary can see them, and they want to take her back to the Institute - pretty much their home base in NY. Except then Clary's mother gets kidnapped by a Ravener demon, and Clary almost gets killed. The Shadowhunters - Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Hodge - bring Clary and Simon to their Institute, and there's a whole lot of adventures and excitement and mystery and action and it was completely amazing.

Yes, I'm ranting. Just a little. But it was an AwEsOmE book!

And a couple of my favorite quotes...

Clary: “Those girls on the other side of the car are looking at you.”

Jace: “Of course they are. I am stunningly attractive.”

Clary: “Haven’t you ever heard that modesty is an attractive trait?”

Jace: “Only from ugly people. The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.”

Jace: “I wish you’d stop desperately trying to get my attention like this. It’s become embarrassing.”

Clary: “Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”

Jace: “I can’t help it. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.”

Clary: “Your pain will be outer soon if you don’t get out of traffic. Are you trying to get run over by a cab?”

Jace: “Don’t be ridiculous. We could never get a cab that easily in this neighborhood.”

Jace: “My one true love remains myself.”

Dorothea: “At least you don’t have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland.”

Jace: “Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.”

There are others, but some of them contain spoilers, and the whole novel is freaking amazing and I definitely can't post the whole novel, so...GO READ THE BOOK!!!!

Book Thoughts: The Summoning

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Darkest Powers #1

The Summoning is about a girl named Chloe Saunders. She's moved around a lot since her mom died, and now her life is finally starting to calm down. She goes to a special school for the arts and dreams of being a filmmaker. Her biggest worry is that she hasn't hit puberty yet, and all of her friends have. Well, it hits - and brings more than just the normal teenage-girl problems.

Suddenly Chloe is seeing ghosts everywhere. When dead people in her school start demanding her attention and she starts talking to people who seemingly aren't there, her Aunt Lauren gets her put in a special group home called Lyle House.

At first Lyle House isn't that bad. But as Chloe gets to know the other kids - Simon, Derek, Lizzie, Rae, and Tori - she begins to suspect that there is more to this home for troubled children than meets the eye. Lyle House has a dark secret, and Chloe is determined to figure it out. But that may be more dangerous than she knows...

The Summoning kept me eagerly turning pages, and the ending left me waiting desperately for the release of The Awakening. Kelley Armstrong does an excellent job with this series, and I recommend it to anyone looking for some great dark fantasy.

[[If you can't tell, this is one of the earlier reviews I wrote. I can now add that books 2 and 3 were just as great!]]

Book Thoughts: The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

The first time I read The Hobbit, I was in... fifth grade I think? Maybe sixth? I was young. I loved it then because it was an adventure story and I loved the characters and I ate up anything to do with fantasy and adventures and elves and goblins and dwarves and all of that.

Rereading it as a college sophomore, I was still captivated by the adventure, but it meant so much more. I was processing it with a more adult mind, I was understanding things on a whole different level, I was appreciating the writing and the storytelling and not just the adventure of Mr. Bilbo Baggins -- but I still loved it. (Also, I like the writing style of this one way more than the actual LotR trilogy.)

It's hard to put into words what makes this such a fun story. Adventure, danger, dragons, dwarves, goblins, battles, yes; but also something about Bilbo's indignation about the whole thing and his reluctant but outstanding heroism. Bilbo Baggins is a character who makes me want to read more about him.

Book Thoughts: The Magicians

Title: The Magicians
Author: Lev Grossman

Let's talk about how much I love The Magicians. I read it at the prompting of a friend of mine, and I was not disappointed.

Quentin, certifiable genius and severely depressed, inadvertently stumbles across Brakebills, a college for magic and gets accepted: cue whirlwind of magical education and adventure.

The catch is, magic is work. And magic college is still college. Quentin discovers sex, booze, hard work, and beautiful friendship like any other college student; he just happens to be studying magic.

The Magicians is a brilliant deconstruction of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. The parallels are evident at every turn but it is in no way a knockoff; it alludes to childhood fantasy stories while being something entirely its own. It's about depression and love and the search for happiness and being careful what you wish for, because even fantasy isn't always as perfect as you dream it will be. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time.

And Alice! I have to talk about Alice because she's my favorite character. She's smart, shy, quiet, yes, but also strong and independent. I adore Alice's character. I would read a whole book just about Alice.

Basically: if you get the chance to read this book, definitely do.

Book Thoughts: Die for Me

Title: Die for Me
Author: Amy Plum
Series: Die for Me #1

Okay, bear with me, because this one is going to get long and rambly and a little more literary-analysis than I usually do. Also, if you read beyond the first like two paragraphs it gets a little spoilery, so be warned.

So, I really enjoyed Die for Me. I did. It was well-written and I liked the characters and I loved the story Amy Plum created with the revenants - very cool supernatural creature that isn’t written a whole lot - and the story kept me engaged and reading; I read the whole book this afternoon. 

But.

I couldn’t help but draw some parallels to Twilight. And that’s weird, because I am not one of those people who compares every single paranormal romance to Twilight. I had that fangirl phase, sure, and then I broke up with a boy and he told me that he was going to kill himself if I didn’t get back together with him, and after that I kind of realized that I had some major problems with the plot of Twilight, and then I realized that, upon closer inspection, Edward and Bella have a really unhealthy relationship.

I don’t compare everything to Twilight. But when something is really close to Twilight, that is usually a bad thing. Die for Me forced me to think about Twilight — but I still really enjoyed the book. It’s sort of, I think, what Meyer’s series would be with no vampires, more action, better characters, and a much healthier romantic relationship (with one exception, which I’ll get to).

The parallels I noticed were these: 

-the girl is immediately attracted to a guy and can’t really explain why, and he seems to share the mutual affection (although Kate approached the situation rationally and did not throw herself into an overhasty relationship, and she was adequately freaked out by Vincent’s true nature, unlike Bella, who was like “oh, a vampire? I love you even more even though I’ve known you for two weeks!")

-the girl does not seem to have any friends outside of the mish-mash family of her supernatural boyfriend, but said family loves her because she has been able to capture the heart of the long-single Vincent/Edward (although Kate does maintain a close and healthy relationship with her sister, Georgia, and her grandparents, whereas Bella totally neglects all the other people in her life)

-they temporarily break up for the girl’s safety and both parties mope and regret the decision and eventually get back together (although Kate was the one who did the breaking up, and nobody became suicidal, and they handled getting back together in a much more cautious and sensible way than Bella and Edward)

-stalking. I think the real reason, quite apart from the others I just mentioned, that I compared Die for Me toTwilight was the fact that Vincent, like Edward, seemed to have a penchant for watching his human girlfriend when she didn’t know about it, and when said girlfriend finds out about it, she seems to accept it as normal. CREEPING IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE OKAY. Taking an interest is a good thing. Standing outside your girlfriend’s window watching her when she doesn’t know you’re there is creepy and bad and very not okay. What saved Die for Me in my opinion was the fact that Kate did seem disturbed at least a little by the stalking, there was very little of it, and Vincent offered an explanation that Kate, acting on her own judgment, deemed reasonable, which was the only reason it was okay at all. Still though. Just…

Why do fictional girls find stalker guys attractive?! Like, okay, really? I love it when my boyfriend texts me without warning during the day to let me know I’m on his mind; I would NOT love it if those texts included things I hadn’t told him about my whereabouts (ie if he had known my address before I told him, that would have been a red flag). I love spending time with him; I would NOT love being unknowingly watched by him (or by anyone else). Even romantic relationships are allowed to have boundaries. Too many fictional relationships don’t seem to recognize that.

I do appreciate that in Die for Me, they make the effort to take their relationship at a slow and healthy pace. InTwilight, the only reason they waited until they were married to have sex was at Edward’s insistence that he behave like a gentleman. In Die for Me, both Kate and Vincent are very respectful of each other’s boundaries; they are both aware that they would be okay with taking things a step further physically, but they know that emotionally they are not prepared for that and they feel they haven’t been together long enough to take that step, so they wait. They talk to each other about what they want out of the relationship, they’re completely open and honest with each other, they don’t start throwing around the word “love" after a couple of weeks, they acknowledge their passion but don’t completely forego rationality for the sake of passion. Aside from the minor stalking fiasco and the fact that I think Kate could really use some other human friends, I think her relationship with Vincent is a fairly healthy one. And that, I think, more than anything, is why I was able to thoroughly enjoy this book despite the fact that it called Twilight so much to mind.

(I really did thoroughly enjoy it, though. I wouldn’t say I’d recommend it to just anyone, but if you are a fan of YA fantasy/paranormal, then I do recommend it to you, absolutely. Although if you’re reading this far and youhaven’t read the book, I just spoiled a fair bit of it…) 

tl;dr: This is paranormal romance done RIGHT.